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Danzan Ravjaa 150th anniversary |
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Thursday, 19 January 2006 |
Odriin Sonin reports: Danzanravjaa "Saint Lord of Gobi" was born in 1803 in the Shuvuun Shand of the Gobi Mergen district of Tusheet Khan province and soon was recognized as a prodigy, writing and performing his own music at age four.
In 1811, in recognition of his extraordinary intellectual and artistic abilities, local religious authorities bestowed on him the title of fifth reincarnation of the Gobi Noyon Khutagt, Mongolian educator and literary figure Danzanravjaa completed his basic training in Buddhist literature, art, religion and philosophy by the early 1820s. Thereafter he established the three monasteries of Galbyn Uul, all of which became local centres of culture, art, and education. Danzanravjaa gave considerable attention to the development of Khamar Monastery in particular, where he established a professional theatre and touring company, public library, museum, and primary school-all of which reflected his serious commitment to the cause of public education. Khamaryn Monastery lies an hour south of Sainshand, administrative centre of the East Gobi.
A few hundred meters north of the temples, in a three-sided valley just below the summit, he built in 1830 Mongolia's first theatre, a "theatre-in-the-square" with a roof and sets but open on all four sides. These were major productions: his most famous surviving play, “True Story of the Moon khokhoo,” required several weeks and over 120 actors to perform in elaborate gilded costume Danzanravjaa was one of the most creative, colorful and enigmatic characters in Mongolian history. He was an accomplished artist, poet, scholar, playwright, songwriter, linguist, collector, traveler, martial artist, and herbal medic as well as Buddhist leader in the Gobi. After his death in 1856, Danzanravjaa's legend and surviving works went underground for 135 years. The story reemerged in 1991 in Sainshand, the dusty and remote capital of Dornogov aimag.
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